Agreement Reached with Forever 21 December 2004 Forever 21, Inc., the Garment Worker Center,, and the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, on behalf of several Los Angeles garment workers represented by it, have reached an agreement to resolve all litigation between them. In addition, the parties have agreed to take steps to promote greater worker protection in the local garment industry. The parties are pleased to announce the resolution of this matter as a positive and symbolic step forward in demonstrating respect and appreciation for garment workers. Under the parties agreement, the national boycott of Forever 21 and related protests at the Company s retail stores, initiated by the Garment Worker Center in 2001, have ended. The parties share a belief that garment workers should labor in lawful conditions and should be treated fairly and with dignity. Forever 21, the Garment Worker Center and all remain committed to ensuring that the clothing Forever 21 sells in its stores is made under lawful conditions.
TM SWEATSHOP WATCH Volume Seven, Number Three December 2001 TM n Los Angeles, workers from six factories who sewed for the popular women s clothing line Forever 21 are calling for an official boycott. The workers are owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in minimum wage and overtime pay. They worked long hours in unsafe and unsanitary conditions. And, some of the workers were fired for speaking out about the poor conditions. We worked ten to twelve hours a day for subminimum wages and no overtime, said Esperanza Hernandez, one of the garment workers. A lot of our factories were dirty and unsafe, with rats and cockroaches running around. At first they promised that I would be paid $300 to $350 per week, said Araceli Castro, who also sewed Forever 21. But when I went to pick up my first paycheck, it was only for $250 even though I had put in extra hours in overtime. My boss claimed that she would pay me more when there was more work, but she never did. The Garment Worker Center helped the 19 workers strategize how they could work as a group to support each other in their cases. Workers decided they should target both the popular clothing retailer and the individual factories to demand their wages. In the garment industry, retailers sit at the top of the industry ladder and subcontract production to manufacturers and sewing contractors (or factories). For too long, this subcontracting system has allowed retailers, like Forever 21, to reap enormous profits off BOYCOTT FOREVER 21! Workers who sewed the Forever 21 label launch a campaign with the Garment Worker Center to demand fair working conditions, September 2001. Photo courtesy of the Garment Worker Center. the backs of sweatshop workers who occupy the bottom rung of the ladder. With projected earnings of up to $400 million in 2001, Forever 21 lies at the top of the hierarchy of power in the garment industry and has the greatest ability to ensure the workers wages and to improve conditions in the factories they do business with. Workers originally attempted to negotiate directly with the management of Forever 21. However, Forever 21 s refusal to negotiate, to offer a just settlement, and to cooperate in the state investigation of the workers claims prompted workers to step up the pressure and file a lawsuit in September against the label. The Asian Pacific American Legal Center is representing the workers in their legal case. The lawsuit seeks unpaid wages, damages and penalties, as well as assurances from Forever 21 that they do not use sweatshop labor. The Forever 21 workers announced an official boycott on November 17. Taking advantage of the approaching holiday shopping season, workers will picket every Saturday through the New Year and step up outreach to university students and community groups to build support for their campaign. Workers are at the forefront of this battle, demanding accountability from retailers and raising awareness among consumers. The workers have recognized the potential they have as a group to demand widespread changes in the garment industry. What you can do to support the Forever 21 workers: Don t buy Forever 21 until they pay the workers who sewed their clothes! Call Forever 21 and demand that they pay the workers their earned wages: 213-747-2121. Endorse the boycott, participate in actions in Los Angeles or organize actions in your own community. Contact the Garment Worker Center at 888-449-6115, gwc@igc.org, www.sweatshopwatch.org/gwc. PAGE ONE
MEXICAN WORKERS WIN UNPRECEDENTED VICTORY On September 21, 2001 Mexican workers won an unprecedented victory. Workers at the Kukdong/Mex Mode factory in the town of Atlixco succeeded in ejecting the corrupt union that had been imposed upon them when the factory opened in 1999 and establishing their own independent, democratic union. This new union, called SITIMEX, now has legal recognition and a new collective contract with the factory. (The Kukdong factory recently changed its name to Mex Mode. ) This represents an extraordinary victory for Mexican workers the Kukdong union is the first independent, democratic union in a maquila garment factory in Mexico. The union contract includes modest but significant gains for the workers in wages, transportation allowances, food allowances and vacation. Moreover, the factory agreed to a re-negotiation in six months and acknowledged its responsibility to allow future wage increases when business improves with the busy spring season. With a strong, independent union representing their interests, the Kukdong workers, mostly women in their late teens and early 20s, expect major gains in the future. Kukdong also represents a major victory for the global anti-sweatshop movement. Kukdong is a case study in how worker rights organizations in the U.S. and abroad can aid workers who are organizing to defend their fundamental rights. The year-old Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), a product of United Students Against Sweatshops, made Kukdong the subject of its first factory investigation and played a key role in helping workers eliminate abuses at the factory and achieve recognition for their right to be represented by a union of their own choosing. Along with the WRC, a range of U.S. and international groups made important contributions toward the victory at Kukdong, including, US-LEAP, Campaign for Labor Rights, Global Exchange, Korea House International Solidarity in Korea, the Clean Clothes Campaign in Europe, CEREAL in Mexico, the Maquila Solidarity Network in Canada and others. The Role of the Worker Rights Consortium and U.S. Colleges and Universities Responding to a powerful student movement, colleges and universities across the country have adopted manufacturing Codes of Conduct. These Codes require the companies that Earlier this year, following the workers' strike, armed guards patrol the Kukdong factory. Photo by Leila Salazar. produce clothing with college and university logos (a $3 billion industry in the U.S.) to ensure that worker rights are respected in their domestic and overseas supplier factories. The Worker Rights Consortium was created to enforce these Codes, by conducting independent investigations of factory conditions and working with colleges and universities to compel U.S. retailers to eliminate abuses. Kukdong produces sweatshirts for Nike and Reebok. A significant amount of this production is college and university goods produced by Nike. Under college and university Codes of Conduct, Nike is therefore required to make sure that the rights of workers at Kukdong are respected. However, despite multiple audits by Nike s labor monitor, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, there were major, undocumented violations at the factory from the time it opened in 1999. Workers were verbally and physically harassed by supervisors, wages for some workers were below even the paltry legal minimum in Mexico, rancid food was regularly served in the company cafeteria that was the only dining option for most workers, and medical leave was routinely denied to ill employees among other problems. Workers efforts to have their grievances addressed were thwarted by an unresponsive management and a corrupt labor union that had been illegally imposed on the Kukdong workforce. In January of this year, things came to a head. The company fired five workers who had been trying to bring workers concerns to management. Almost the entire workforce walked out on strike in protest of these illegal firings. The strikers demanded the removal of the corrupt union from the factory and the chance to meet with management to air their grievances. Instead, the company and the incumbent union called in state police who violently suppressed the strike. In the aftermath, despite a promise to allow striking workers to go back to their jobs without reprisals, Kukdong management and the incumbent union refused to allow the vast majority of workers to return. Workers contacted the Worker Rights Consortium, which immediately launched an investigation and in late January 2001 issued a preliminary report on the situation at Kukdong. This report identified several major worker rights violations and flagged the factory s refusal to reinstate striking workers as the continued on page three PAGE TWO
To buy or not to buy? Ending sweatshops isn t as easy as knowing what to buy and avoid. There is no definitive list of good guys who respect workers rights and bad guys who use sweatshops. But, you can help fight sweatshops by supporting campaigns led by workers. These are just a few boycotts that you can support: Boycott Forever 21. Los Angeles garment workers who sewed for this popular retailer of young women s clothing are owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid wages (see related article). Contact the Garment Worker Center, 888-449-6115, gwc@igc.org, www.sweatshopwatch.org/gwc. DKNY Girlcott. New York garment workers are campaigning to hold Donna Karan accountable for sweatshop conditions. Contact the National Mobilization Against Sweatshops, 718-625-9091, nmass@yahoo.com, www.nmass.org. Boycott Taco Bell. Workers who pick Taco Bell s tomatoes in Florida are protesting unfair working and living conditions. Contact the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, 941-657-8311, CoaImmWkr@aol.com, www.ciw-online.org. You can find more campaign, boycott and responsible shopping information on our web site s What You Can Do Page at www.sweatshopwatch.org/do. KUKDONG VICTORY continued issue of gravest immediate concern. The WRC recommended that colleges and universities urge Nike to take strong action to protect the right of Kukdong workers to return to their jobs. Ultimately, after a combination of publicity arising from the WRC report, student protests coordinated by United Students Against Sweatshops, pressure from organizations across the globe, and intervention by many colleges and universities, Nike and Reebok took steps to pressure the Kukdong management to allow the workers to return to work and to make significant improvements in working conditions. The WRC issued a second, more comprehensive report in June 2001, noting that significant progress had been made but that workers still had not been able to exercise their right to choose their own union. The WRC report (available at www.workersrights.org), which was based on extensive interviews with workers, factory management, officials of the incumbent union, and the local government, outlined in detail the illegal manner in which the incumbent union had come to represent the Kukdong workers. The report identified specific steps that should be taken to protect the workers right to organize. Because of the extraordinary courage and perseverance of the workers at Kukdong, the incumbent union was finally ousted in September and a new, democratic body established. It is clear that public pressure, especially in the U.S., convinced Kukdong management that they were in danger of losing their customer base if they did not demonstrate a commitment to respecting worker rights including the right to organize. Lessons From the standpoint of the international worker rights movement, the Kukdong case illustrates the ways that Codes of Conduct can be used as an effective tool to defend workplace rights. The public scrutiny that activists in the U.S. and around the world were able to bring to bear helped the workers succeed. Student activists transformed the debate in the U.S. about corporate responsibility by compelling dozens of colleges to adopt Codes of Conduct and by establishing the WRC as an independent enforcement mechanism. The Kukdong victory demonstrates that these efforts have begun to bear fruit in overseas sweatshops. PAGE THREE
For too long, garment manufacturers and retailers have been able to shield themselves from responsibility for the conditions of workers who sew their clothes by creating chains of subcontracting. Two years ago, garment workers and their advocates celebrated a important victory in the fight against sweatshops. In September 1999, California Governor Gray Davis signed a landmark sweatshop reform bill, Assembly Bill 633 (AB 633), which holds garment manufacturers and private label retailers legally responsible for workers minimum wages and overtime pay. How have garment workers fared since the law went into effect in January 2000? Are the state's 140,000 garment workers receiving minimum wage and overtime? Do manufacturers and retailers take responsibility when workers are not paid legally? Have we made a dent in California s sweatshop crisis? The simple answer to these questions is that sweatshops persist in California, and manufacturers and retailers continue to avoid responsibility. However, the reasons for this answer are more complex, and believes that with continued advocacy and organizing, the new law can be a meaningful tool for garment workers to assert their workplace rights and hold corporations accountable. Yeny Saavedra, an immigrant from Mexico, described the conditions she faces as a garment worker during a rally and press conference in front of the Governor's office in Los Angeles, June 2001. Photo courtesy of the Garment Worker Center. Assembly examines labor law enforcement In July, the California Assembly Committee on Labor & Employment held an oversight hearing in Los Angeles to examine labor law enforcement in the garment and janitorial industries, well-known for workplace abuse. Workers and advocates voiced their experiences, detailing numerous examples of sweatshop conditions in the region s garment factories and of poor labor CALIFORNIA S SWEATSHOP PAGE FOUR Under California law, manufacturers & private label retailers whose labels garment workers sew are legally responsible for guaranteeing workers' minimum wage and overtime pay. Garment workers keep track of labels and care tags so they know who is responsible if they are not paid legally. law enforcement. Four garment workers offered compelling testimony about their difficult experiences in the workplace and at the Labor Commissioner s office. Joann Lo, an organizer with the Garment Worker Center, described recurring problems that garment workers face. Some of the problems are: Piece rates are set so low that workers cannot earn the minimum wage. The rates are lowered if they work faster, and the rates have not risen when the state minimum wage has increased. Workers are not paid overtime. Workers are afraid to speak out about workplace abuse because of threats of termination or deportation. Workers do not have heath care benefits. The factories are unsanitary and dangerous. Workers are given work to do at home, even after working a full day in the factory. According to a 2000 U.S. Department of Labor survey of registered garment factories in Los Angeles, 67% violate minimum wage and overtime laws and 98% violate health and safety laws; and over $80 million in unpaid wages is lost by garment workers each year. Demonstrating that little has changed for garment workers since the passage of AB 633, Professor Gary Blasi of the UCLA School of Law presented findings from a preliminary report on the effectiveness of the law. From January 1, 2000 to March 25, 2001, 382 claims were filed by garment workers in the state. 108 cases were settled for a total of $141,997. In 44 additional cases, where no settlement was reached, the Labor Commissioner served judgments totaling $320,569. However, the state was only able to collect $17,274 of that for workers. Moreover, all of that came from contractors, and not a penny came from manufacturers or retailers. So, garment workers are continuing to lose tens of millions of dollars each year. AB 633 also provides an expedited administrative process before the Labor Commissioner for garment workers to recover their unpaid wages and overtime. Within 3 to 4 months,
REFORM LAW: TWO YEARS a worker's case should be resolved, however many workers continue to endure a long, arduous process to collect their wages. An anonymous garment worker who has worked in Los Angeles for the past 10 years said, I filed my wage claim in April 2000. I then waited until June for my first conference and then until February of the next year for a hearing. I eventually won my case but the contractor appealed. Today, over one year later, I am still waiting for my wages. Worker advocates, including Christina Chung, a staff attorney at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, described numerous problems with enforcement including: Failure to meet timelines Insufficient investigations Failure to collect awards Inadequate staff training LATER Los Angeles. and several of our members and allies prepared comments and testified. We expressed concerns that the regulations NOT include a definition of garment manufacturer that allows for evasion of the law. We also expressed support for a number of record keeping provisions that will level the playing field in the wage claim process between garment workers and contractors and manufacturers. One such provision requires contractors to provide workers with information about the labels they sew, on the workers itemized wage statements. Budget woes Funding for labor law enforcement has failed to keep pace with the growing workforce in California. In fact, the state s funding falls short of historic levels and national averages. For example, the number of employers in the state has doubled since 1982, yet enforcement staff is 6% smaller. During the hearing, workers and advocates also urged Governor Gray Davis to approve the new state budget, which included a $5 million increase for labor law enforcement. This would have provided increased staffing and a desperately needed computer system. As state lawmakers listened to hours of testimony from garment workers and janitors about the need for more labor law funding, Governor Davis cut $3 million from the budget for labor law enforcement. More recently, as the economy slowed, the Governor called for budget cuts of 15% for all state agencies and announced a hiring freeze. Without the necessary funding and staffing for enforcement, worker advocates are pushing the labor agency to be more effective and efficient. Proper staff training, strong communication among departments, and increased responsiveness to workers are a few improvements that can translate into better labor law enforcement. Regulations to implement AB 633 finally drafted Another key provision of AB 633 is funding for enforcement. The law allows the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement to increase garment registration fees for contractors and manufacturers by implementing regulations. However, the state failed to propose the regulations until July 2001 one and a half years after the law went into effect, losing millions that could have been used to protect garment workers rights. In October 2001, the state held public comment hearings on the proposed garment regulations in San Francisco and Rally at the Labor Commissioner's office in San Francisco, October 2001. Photo by. Outside the San Francisco hearing, staged an energetic protest with 300 people mostly Chinese immigrant workers to demand full enforcement of labor laws. (See related article.) Keeping up the pressure, our members, allies and workers have made it clear that the state needs to seriously deal with the prevalent labor abuses in low-wage industries. We have raised problems with labor officials as they come up, and we have organized numerous protests to voice our concerns. Since the oversight hearing, there are now regular venues to discuss enforcement issues. The Coalition of Immigrant Worker Organizations (, Garment Worker Center, Maintenance Cooperation Trust Fund, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, and Korean Immigrant Workers Advocates) is meeting regularly with California s top labor officials. Garment worker advocates in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area are establishing better communication with state labor officials. These are just the first steps to improving working conditions for the state s garment and other low-wage immigrant workers. We will continue our advocacy and organizing efforts until we finally see conditions improve for the state s immigrant workers. PAGE FIVE
SAN FRANCISCO SWEATSHOPS EXPOSED This summer, one of the worst cases of sweatshop abuse in San Francisco s history began to unfold. Over 200 garment workers mostly monolingual Chinese immigrant women labored without pay for several months and are owed over $850,000 in back wages. The workers were employed by three related garment factories in San Francisco Wins of California, Win Fashions and Win Industries of America. All three Wins factories are owned by Toha Jimmy Quan and his wife Anna Wong. The factories have a long history of labor law violations. In the early 1990s, Wins signed a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) due to repeated labor law violations and has been on the DOL target list for frequent inspections. Wins has been sued twice for labor law violations by its former employees, who were represented by the Asian Law Caucus. And, individual workers have filed claims against Wins with the state Labor Commissioner. In July 2001, shortly after Win Fashions declared bankruptcy and shut its doors, about 50 laid-off garment workers went to the Asian Law Caucus seeking assistance. Many had not been paid since March 2001. The workers claim they sewed clothes for Kmart, Bebe, Cut Loose and Jolene (a children s clothing line also owned by factory owners Quan and Wong). Soon, we learned that similar abuses were occurring at the two other factories. Wins of California employed about 150 workers, and many had not been paid since April 2001. The workers claim they sewed clothing for J.C. Penney, Sears, Target, Wal-Mart, Tommy Hilfiger, Gap, Sam s Club, and the U.S. Army and Airforce. At Win Industries of America, about 35 workers labored without pay sewing teddy bears. Unlike Win Fashions, these two factories were unregistered they did not have a current license with the state to engage in garment manufacturing. Under California s 1980 Garment Registration Act, the workers of Wins of California and Win Industries of America are entitled to their back pay from the manufacturers whose labels they sewed. These manufacturers are considered joint employers of the workers with the unregistered contractors/factories. Under California s recent sweatshop reform law (see related article), all of the workers are guaranteed their back wages from the contractors and manufacturers whose labels they sewed through an administrative wage claim process of the state Labor Commissioner. The Labor Commissioner also has authority to file a civil action on behalf of the entire workforce to recover their back wages. After learning about the Wins workers' case from the Asian Law Caucus, one of our member organizations, Sweatshop Watch contacted the state and federal labor departments to demand action. We also contacted the retailers and manufacturers to pressure them to settle the workers wage claims. In order PAGE SIX to put more pressure on the government and retailers to resolve the workers claims, contacted the San Francisco Chronicle, which exposed the abuses in a front page article in August. The state finally took its first action and shut down the two remaining factories for operating illegally, without a license. Nearly 100 Chinese immigrant garment workers from the Wins factories in San Francisco picket their former workplaces, demanding months of unpaid wages, October 2001. Photo by. Coalition comes together to assist workers A coalition of community groups came together to assist the 200 garment workers who were now unemployed and without several months of wages. These groups include Sweatshop Watch, the Asian Law Caucus, the Women s Employment Rights Clinic of Golden Gate University School of Law, the Employment Law Center - Legal Aid Society of San Francisco, the Chinese Progressive Association, the Labor Immigrant Organizing Network, Chinese for Affirmative Action, the Asian Immigrant Women s Advocates and UNITE. We organized several workshops to help the workers understand their legal options for recovering their wages, to assist them in organizing their records, and to assist them in filing wage claims with the state Labor Commissioner. Our trainings prompted over 200 workers to file claims. Lee Mah, Inc. electronics workers also laid off Soon, another significant plant closure occurred on September 7, when approximately 200 Chinese immigrant workers were laid off by Lee Mah Electronics, Inc. in San Francisco, without notice or severance pay. Federal law requires the owner to give at least 60 days notice or pay 60 days of severance. Like the Wins garment workers, the Lee Mah electronics workers are also continued on page seven
SAN FRANCISCO SWEATSHOPS continued struggling to pay for their basic living expenses and to find new and better jobs. The coalition worked with San Francisco Supervisor Leland Yee to offer a workshop on accessing social services for rental assistance, insurance, food stamps and job training. And, with assistance from the San Francisco Food Bank, we organized food donations for the workers. Workers take action On October 4, the Wins garment and Lee Mah electronics workers rallied at San Francisco s State Building to protest the crises in poor enforcement of labor laws, the increase of factory closures and lack of living wage jobs. Of the 300 people picketing the entire block that the State Building occupies, about 200 were workers. After the rally, the Lee Mah electronics workers held a press conference at the Lee Mah, Inc. headquarters to demand that the owner, Bing Mah, negotiate a settlement with them. [As we go to print, the Lee Mah workers are in the midst of negotiating with the company.] Inspired by the organizing efforts of the Lee Mah workers, the Wins workers decided to protest their former employer too. A few days later, on October 9, the Wins workers protested at Win Fashions. Many workers directly confronted their former boss, Anna Wong, arguing over the back pay she owes them. The workers then marched to the largest of the Wins factories, Wins of California. No immediate solutions Although over 200 of the Wins garment workers have now filed wage claims with the California Labor Commissioner, they are still waiting for action and have no indication of when they will receive their back wages. The U.S. Department of Labor is continuing its investigation, which is also expected to be drawnout. Meanwhile, two of the three Wins factories are now in bankruptcy and several criminal charges are being brought against the Wins owners., our members and allies will continue to support the workers by advocating that the state and federal labor departments do their job and recover the workers wages from the corporations whose labels they sewed. Job Announcements is seeking an Executive Director (Oakland or Los Angeles), and the Garment Worker Center is seeking an Assistant Case Manager (Los Angeles). For complete job announcements, visit our web site at www.sweatshopwatch.org/ jobs.html. RESOURCES www.behindthelabel.org is a 24-hour internet news channel and on-line community dedicated to exposing and fighting the brutal conditions of the global sweatshop apparel industry. Made in Indonesia: Indonesian Workers Since Suharto is a recently-published book by Dan La Botz that recounts the labor movement since Suharto s overthrow in 1998. $18.00 plus shipping. South End Press, 800-533-8478. FTAA for Beginners is an educational kit on the Free Trade Area of the Americas that includes flip charts, handouts and a trainer s guide. $65.00 plus shipping. United for a Fair Economy, 617-423-0148, www.ufenet.org. Bangladesh...Ending the Race to the Bottom is a new report on sweatshop abuses in factories in Bangladesh producing for over 20 universities and Nike. National Labor Committee, 212-242-3002, nlc@nlcnet.org, www.nlcnet.org. Making the Invisible Visible: A Study of Maquila Workers in Mexico is a recent study which shows that Mexican maquiladora workers are not able to meet their basic needs on sweatshop wages. Center for Reflection, Education and Action (CREA), www.crea-inc.org. There has been much debate within the anti-sweatshop movement about codes of conduct and monitoring. A comprehensive source of information on these topics is the Maquila Solidarity Network. Visit their web site at www.maquilasolidarity.org/resources/codes/index.htm. PROUDLY MADE IN NEW YORK APPAREL CAMPAIGN An historic coalition of elected leaders, manufacturers, retailers, and the apparel industry union UNITE have come together to rebuild the apparel industry in New York in the wake of September 11. Through the Made in New York apparel initiative, manufacturers will produce, retailers will sell, and consumers will buy more clothing made in New York factories, to preserve jobs for struggling New York garment workers. The initial sponsors of Made in New York came together to launch the initiative at a press conference on October 12, 2001 in Manhattan s Chinatown, just blocks from Ground Zero. US Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton, New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, and New York City Public Advocate and Democratic candidate for Mayor Mark Green expressed their support for Made in New York. Participating retailers and manufacturers included Tahari, Nicole Miller, Brooks Brothers, Calvin Klein, Bill Blass, Leslie Fay, Martin Greenfield, Lord West, and Lafayette 148 (the event s host). Source: www.behindthelabel.org. Editors: Nikki Fortunato Bas, Hina B. Shah. Contributors: Marissa Nuncio, Joann Lo/Garment Worker Center. PAGE SEVEN
What to do this Holiday Season? Save these dates and support workers rights! November 17 & every Saturday through the new year: Join the Boycott of Forever 21 stores and support Los Angeles garment workers as they demand their earned wages and an end to sweatshops. Every Saturday at 3:00 pm, join workers and supporters outside Forever 21 s Highland Park, Fashion 21 store at 5637 N. Figueroa St. in Los Angeles. Contact the Garment Worker Center, 888-449-6115, gwc@igc.org, www.sweatshopwatch.org/gwc. November 23: Kick off to the International Toy Campaign to Protect Worker Rights in China. A campaign to end the use of toxic chemicals and paints, mandated 16-hour shifts 7 days a week, a call for the payment of fair wages and the organization of in-plant worker health and safety committees. Contact the National Labor Committee, 212-242-3002, nlc@nlcnet.org, www.nlcnet.org. December 5: Human Rights Week across the country. Join the 5th Annual Holiday Season of Conscience with candle-light vigils and marches to end child labor and sweatshop abuses. Contact the National Labor Committee, 212-242-3002, nlc@nlcnet.org, www.nlcnet.org. 2 Address Service Requested TM SWEATSHOP WATCH 310 Eighth Street, Suite 309 Oakland, CA 94607 Join! is a coalition of labor, community, civil rights, immigrant rights, women's, religious & student organizations, and individuals, committed to eliminating sweatshop conditions in the global garment industry. We believe that workers should be earning a living wage in a safe and decent working environment. Please join us by becoming a member. Send in this form with a check or make a donation from our web site www.sweatshopwatch.org. Yes! I want to join. Enclosed is my $20 membership. Additional contributions are welcome. Name: Address: Make checks payable and send to: SWEATSHOP WATCH 310 Eighth St., Suite 309, Oakland CA 94607 (510) 834-8990 www.sweatshopwatch.org